Why do People Judge by Age?

I'm really getting angry by this. I'm 12 and I get a whole lot of idiots saying I suck and I'm a 'script-kiddie'. I'm getting sick and tired of people who claim I can't program just because my age. The funny thing is, I'm better than 90% of the people who talk junk. :|

Why does it matter? Just ignore them, what they say doesn't make you any worse of a programmer and certainly not worse of a person. There's really no reason to pay heed to what people who don't you know well think.

I don't know of an answer to "why" this happens, other than perhaps jealousy and a feeling of inferiority.

Like ascii said ignore them, getting angry over this is not going to help you one bit. And to tell you the truth it won't get better once your older either. It actually usually gets worse when you are older, you will have co workers that are jealous of you who want to put you down, you will have bosses that are complete jerks, and so on. So the only thing you can do is to ignore them and prove them wrong with your skills.

Why do you keep posting these threads that ask questions tha wil never and can never have an answer? Like ascii said, ignore them and just continue with your coding the best you can. The more you worry about them the quicker you will fail at anything you do as you will constantly start thinking they are right and start doubting yourself. Even in jobs, you will have haters, so it is best to get over it and keep focused on your work otherwise you will start believing you are bad and never improve.

I'm really getting angry by this. I'm 12 and I get a whole lot of idiots saying I suck and I'm a 'script-kiddie'.

Having recently turned 30, I can tell you something I've noticed from an adult perspective:

Teenagers talk like they know things, but they are (more often than not) completely ignorant and don't have the first clue what they're talking about.

You, not even being a teenager yet, are no better off. You simply do not have the experience to warrant respect from people older than you.

Is it unfair? Sure. But it's probably an accurate assessment. You may be skilled for your age... but that means nothing to someone who has 6+ years experience... and it means even less to people like me with 15+ years. Unless you're some kind of crazy savant (read: you're not) you are unlikely to change this hard truth.

In 18 years, when you're my age, you'll understand. You'll look back on your youthful ignorance and laugh. For now... rather than get upset about it... just accept and trust that your elders know more than you.

EDIT:

One of my favorite quotes:

"Education is the progressive realization of our ignorance."
- Bubbles, Power Puff Girls

Basically it means the more you learn, the more you realize just how much there is that you don't know. It's very true.

This thread gives me the impression that you think you know things... and you are wondering why people think you don't. The answer is that they think you don't because you act like you do.

If you really did know things, you would be aware of your ignorance and would be humbled by it.

@Ceraphy. Unfortunately, not everyone experiences that humility. Arrogance often results instead.
I felt humbled in my study of science (in college) where one sees quickly that for every question answered, two more arise.

I was in the same boat as you 6 years ago, Fredbill30. You're probably really talented at what you do, I'm not questioning that. A few years from now, though, you'll look back and be like "Oh man, I was totally a script kiddie then."
Then a few years after that you'll think you were a script kiddie around the time you thought you weren't a script kiddie anymore. And the cycle repeats. It's natural progression of growing.
As Disch mentioned, you'll hit a certain age and realize that just about everything you've ever thought in your teenage years wasn't backed with any type of experience, then you'll come to terms with why it seemed like no one was showing you any respect (and then you'll do the exact same thing to people younger than you).

If you're programming when you're twelve, you're already ahead of the game, and you'll probably find yourself ahead of the game for the rest of your life - if you're one of the people that can form a good mental image of how to program, you'll probably find that you'll do better than most in school (academic wise) as well, because programming exercises your thought process.

So don't let the man get you down. You've got a bright future to look forward to.

"I'm 12 and I get a whole lot of idiots saying I suck and I'm a 'script-kiddie'."

Well, script-kiddies are a stereotype which is usually portrayed by the younger generation. Elders tend to make this stereotypical association because in most cases children lack the mental maturity to comprehend how software works internally and so they skip the details and let the software get on with it.

The only thing you can do is ignore them and keep learning how to program. Don't waste your time trying to convince people that you're not a script-kiddie because at your age, they won't take you seriously and will still assume your a script-kiddie.

yeah jealousy has always made my skin crawl, I never trusted anyone I worked with who wasn't already a friend too, it does get worse actually but you get better at dealing with it instead, you started this programming thing at 12 too, imagine how much better at everything than everyone you will be then, but don't let it get to your head too, you will find theres always someone better than you, which is always a good thing

I'm really getting angry by this. I'm 12 and I get a whole lot of idiots saying I suck and I'm a 'script-kiddie'. I'm getting sick and tired of people who claim I can't program just because my age. The funny thing is, I'm better than 90% of the people who talk junk. :|

While I'm not saying you can't program, at age 12 most people lack the experience and critical thinking / problem solving skills to be truly "skilled" at anything, much less programming. Young kids that start programming prioritize knowing "how" something works, and then leave it at that, and lack the matuerity to look into the "why" something works. If you don't learn how software works internally, and skip the important details, you are hurting yourself in the long run. That is why people call you a script kiddie.

At 12 years old I know it seems like you know what you're doing, but if you look back at your past self in 8-10 years, you'll probably laugh at how little you knew, and understand why people weren't taking you seriously.

I agree with Disch when he said

Teenagers talk like they know things, but they are (more often than not) completely ignorant and don't have the first clue what they're talking about.

You, not even being a teenager yet, are no better off. You simply do not have the experience to warrant respect from people older than you.

Is it unfair? Sure. But it's probably an accurate assessment. You may be skilled for your age... but that means nothing to someone who has 6+ years experience... and it means even less to people like me with 15+ years. Unless you're some kind of crazy savant (read: you're not) you are unlikely to change this hard truth.

In 18 years, when you're my age, you'll understand. You'll look back on your youthful ignorance and laugh. For now... rather than get upset about it... just accept and trust that your elders know more than you.

Young kids that start programming prioritize knowing "how" something works, and then leave it at that, and lack the matuerity to look into the "why" something works.

I disagree with this. I feel being unsatisfied with just knowing how something works but not why is part of someones personality and present from a very young age. I've seen it in a lot of kids, and I think starting around 9-10 I stubbornly refused to use an idea or technique that I didn't understand the "why" of.

I disagree with this. I feel being unsatisfied with just knowing how something works but not why is part of someones personality and present from a very young age. I've seen it in a lot of kids, and I think starting around 9-10 I stubbornly refused to use an idea or technique that I didn't understand the "why" of.

Really? Then I want to live where you do. The kids I see just jump right to shorcuts for things. Even in college, I'm watching people get through physics class by memorizing formulas, instead of actually learning anything. They passed with an A, sure, but they can't actually explain basic physics concepts, and these people are 18-19.

But I digress, it is fair to say that some kids may look deeper into concepts. However I still say that my statement above applies to a majority.